Hello....finally i got over that melting foam drama...lol...

I tried arcylics over foam, while it didnt melt the foam, but the texture of the foam (that small circles) became way too apparent. So i had to apply a thin layer of interior plaster over the foam.

Back to the topic, here is a basic pic of what i have in mind for my dio. Do you think i should add sandbags to the rear of the mortar plate ? Or having mortar on a stone floor is secure enough ?

Thanks !

Put sandbags, the whole point of sandbags is to stop the mortar leaping all over rthe place by absorbing a bit of the vibration.....apart from that, nice stuff.... Jim

You've two choice - Sandbag or rubble.
If they came prepared they would have scoped out the spot and brought sand bags. If it was abit more impromptu they would use whats available and lots of rubble should be there from the wall. You could use that and pile it up around the base.

You need to do that anytime you work with styrofoam because of the way it is made. I would add copious amounts of sand bags. I would build them up in front of the mortar team, and around the doorway at the very least. You can't have too many sand bags.

On the whole, looks great.

ToonArmy,

NICE! It's looking great! I love the idea of it being inside like that, but to echo the above posts... you need to secure that baby down with a lots of rubble or some sandbags on the baseplate.... Something. As is, that'll skip all over you on that hard smooth clean floor with the first round out. Firing a mortar like that could very well ruin your day, not to mention the shot NOT ending up on target. A mortar puts out some serious recoil... even the smallest mortars. Hunker that baby down.

I'd say use lots of rubble (to add to the demolished building as well)... and throw in a few bags too.

Take a look at some of the 81mm mortars in position today. After the first round goes out, the baseplate is just about covered with and flush to the ground. Ya, maybe the crew stomped on it to seat (and level it) it, but the first round out usually will better seat the mortar for you. Also, if you'll note, WWII halftracks as well as the current day carriers need to have the floor strengthened to help absorb the recoil forces.

This all will all depend on the situation of course. Like mentioned above, if this is a hastily set up position, use what's available, but this would not be an 'ideal' firing platform as is.

You're on the right track with this ToonArmy! Just a little more time (and rubble) and it'll be OUTSTANDING! I can't wait to see it completed!

Thanks a lot for the replies guys... I really appreciate it....

ToonArmy

That looks great. Once you add your rubble and more weathering dirt it will look amazing. Can't wait to see the end product. Great Job!

HastyP

Ola Toonarmy

Looking damn good dude. What kind of foam did you use??? Styrofoam or foamcore bords??? Looking good that building. If I may add a suggestion about the sandbags and rubble around the mortar. I suggest do them both.. I mean the whole building collapsed or is destroyed so the rubble must be somewhere and besides that, it simply looks cool and realistic. So I suggest add a serious amount of rubble inside and add the sandbags still on the groundplate of the mortar.

Further I really love your bricks and the groundwork, and the plaster is very convincing too.
I especially like the church bench and I can`t wait to see the dio finished.

I'm using styrofoam...just as you suggested in "Distraction". The stone-tiles flooring was also "stolen" from your "Distraction". Hope you dont mind

I absolutely don`t mind I wrote the article in the hope that this would happen. I guess you are satisfied with the result right now???? I should be because it looks tremendous